Tobacco Honey
Eau de Parfum, Guerlain (2023)

A stronger, slightly sweeter take on Tobacco Vanille. Maybe it’s just my nose, but recent batches of TV feel softer and more toned down, whereas Tobacco Honey comes across much more powerful—it really lasts for days.

Despite the strength, it’s well-balanced. The honey and tobacco work nicely together, so it never feels overly sweet, artificial, or cloying. That said, if you already own Tobacco Vanille, this feels pretty redundant. It’s easily 90% similar. It’s priced a bit lower than TV at retail for a 100ml, but honestly, I’d suggest trying Al Haramain Amber Oud Tobacco Edition first before dropping $500+ on this.

Personally, I wouldn’t buy a bottle, even at a discount, but I’d happily wear it in the coldest winter weather if I had it. It just loses points on originality because it stays so close to Tobacco Vanille.

Delphine Jelk deserves credit for the harmony and balance brought to this perfume. The green tobacco never gets "too green", the honey is rich and photorealistic, and they are all brought together by absolutely lovely anise and clove that sits on a tonka, amber, and woody base. All of the notes link-up in very logical and well-delivered ways via very pleasant materials.

However, that's where the compliments stop. As well made as it is, it is very uninspired. Just like with Patchouli Paris it is very linear and uninteresting (or, uninspiring, more precisely), despite the craftsmanship. Tobacco Honey is checking-off some boxes on a marketing brief, and, again, as with Patchouli Paris, it's leaning in the sweet earthy amber direction - very, very sweet and vanillic, too much so. Additionally, just like Patchouli Paris, it takes the primary earthy accord and adds a bit of spice and animalics to round it out. It's filling-in the blanks of a formula with different ingredients. Insert earthy accord here, insert something vanillic here, insert something sweet here, etc. Unfortunately, it's just boring (and just a French leaning Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille). Firm pass.

Finally doing a proper sampling of Guerlain Tobacco Honey, a 2023 release in L’Art et La Matiere collection, its principal higher-end line, and a fittingly sweet and spicy tobacco, fairly powerful, a bit sharper than what occurs to me as the most immediate comparison in By Kilian Back to Black, and for that reason, I find it to be good but not great, as I would expect either more ease of wearing or to be challenged in a different way than the headiness that I get out of it. The honey is not especially creamy, beeswax-like, or spicy, so it’s a bit unfulfilling as an expression of honey, though the tobacco component is good. Still, it’s overall an enjoyable wear but just not an immediate favorite, especially when contrasted with Feve Gourmande (formerly Gourmand Coquin), which excellently hits a lot of marks while not being too strident.

It’s EDP concentration with retail pricing of $595/440/300 for 200/100/50ml, so even at largest size, which is very large, it’s not modestly priced, and falls into the category of something that one would need to really love in order to buy any sized bottle of it. It’s sold in the US via the house website and some department stores like Saks Fifth Avenue.

7 out of 10

I blind bought this by judging a book by its cover. I thought I would be serenaded with notes of cloves, vanilla, honey, and tobacco. Instead its just a basic non-complicated structure to the scent. I’m not getting any one dominant note. I am unable to render a negative or positive opinion. Because I want to give it time to justify the almost $400 price tag. Maybe it will proof in there?

Opening with a burst of sweet honey underpinned by tobacco, this seems to "do what it says on the tin", but there's more: subtle spices (listed as clove & aniseed), & a whiff of the band-aid type of oud which l could honestly do without. lt's strong stuff initially, with the tobacco quickly strengthening & dominating, & although sniffing closely l detect the sweetness of tonka, it's not overwhelmingly sweet. lt fades slowly over the course of around six hours, & at this point it's sweeter but much softer. Twelve hours in there's a faint creamy sandalwood in the base, but at this point it's very close to the skin.

Comparisons with Tom Ford's Tobacco Vanille were inevitable, & so l tested these side by side, one on each arm:

ln the opening, they're strikingly similar. TH is most definitely sweeter due to the honey, & its spice notes are more prominent, but the tobacco note itself is very much the same in both. TV softens more quickly, becoming much more mellow & smooth, where TH projects more & retains its sweet, honeyed feel throughout the drydown. Six hours in, TH is still the stronger of the two.

lt's hard to say which l prefer. ln terms of performance, TH is the winner, & it's definitely sweeter, perhaps leaning more feminine. But in terms of scent, l think l prefer the mellow softness of TV.

Smells a lot like Tobacco Vanille IMO. Has that Chergui vibe in there. Not as sweet as 18.21 Tobacco, but it is in the same vein. Quality ingredients, but not an original fragrance. Nice fragrance for Fall and Winter. 7.5/10